Windows 7: Unwanted Resizing of Taskbar

As a personal preference, I run with the taskbar positioned on the left side of the screen with autohide set. In all previous versions of Windows, when I set the width of the taskbar (usually about 1 inch, so I can see more than just the icon for each task and the quick launch area is three or four icons wide) it stays that way, whether the taskbar is locked or unlocked. With Windows 7, after I set the width, any time the system restarts, whether from Hibernation, reboot, initial startup, what-ever - the taskbar is back to the narrowest setting. I've done web searches and and been through all the taskbar resizing entries on this forum without finding a solution. Any ideas?

I have the taskbar on the left side of my screen as well, set on auto-hide and locked, and I've encountered this same problem. Rarely does it occur for me from a system restart, but it always happens when I play Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. It's kind of annoying, and I'd like to know if there's a solution aside from not playing that game.

I would try locking the taskbar if you don't already have it set to do that and see if that works.

Locked or unlocked, no difference.

Has anyone found a fix for this issue? It happens on both my desktop and my notebook. To recap:

- Vertical (left side) taskbar
- Locked or unlocked, doesn't matter
- Autohide set to On
- Often caused by making apps fullscreen or changing resolutions
- Sometimes happens just by coming out of power-save mode

Actual windows bug? C'mon Microsoft, we know you monitor these forums. Fix it!

Same problem here. In my case it is 100% repeatable: every time I resume from hibernation, the taskbar is shrunk to its smallest size.

The common problem seems to be hibernation. My uneducated guess would be that hibernation changes the screen settings. Try Sleep mode instead.

This problem occurs only when the Autohideset to On.
This bug is present for my Windows XP and Windows 7 if the taskbar is located on left/right side. With Autohide set to off this bug has never to repeat.
If the taskbar is located at the bottom, then everything works fine even with Autohideset to On.

Having the exact same problem. Status bar on left and autohide is on. When coming out of hibernation, connecting external display, or doing other screen related things, the width setting is completely forgotten. A fix would be appreciated.

PS. The quick reply feature on this forum is not very intuitive, I filled in a quick reply and then clicked the big orange button right next to it, and lost my whole reply. This is my second try. I'm glad it wasn't longer.

To post your Quick Reply, click on the "Submit Reply" link below the Quick Rely box. That will save and post your reply. (And of course, you can click Preview Post if you want to preview/edit it first.)